


Bravado

by wintershelter



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Banishment, Episode: s03e02 The Powers That Be, Gen, Introspection, because i need something good to come of this shit show, i'm so angry for raj, so in this fic he's gonna find friends and be loved
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-29
Updated: 2018-03-29
Packaged: 2019-04-14 16:17:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14139765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wintershelter/pseuds/wintershelter
Summary: Raj has a lot of thoughts on his relocation to Wrangel Island. He soon finds out that spending the next few months in banishment may not be all bad.Takes place following the events of 3x02.





	Bravado

**Author's Note:**

> So, I'm really fucking pissed Raj was banished. Yes, he undermined the Head of the Institute which wasn't great, but he believed he was preventing 8.5 million people from blowing up. Even I thought Alec's plan was tremendously risky and I knew everything would turn out fine. A transfer to another Institute or some time spent in Idris would have been more reasonable, but banishment to Wrangel Island ???? Jace, Clary, Alec and Izzy have committed countless acts of insubordination and gone on more unsanctioned missions than any other Shadowhunter alive and have faced few consequences for it, but the one time Raj challenges authority, he gets punished for it. It's pure fucking bullshit. Anyway, this is my self-indulgent salt piece because Raj deserved better.

Raj pulled his jacket tighter as he walked back to compound, shivering in the cold arctic air.

He absolutely hated Wrangel Island.

If someone had told him last week that he'd be banished to this desolate place, he would've laughed in their face, but today was a whole different story.

He didn't even understand what had gone so terribly wrong that caused him to get banished. He'd only been doing what he thought was right. He truly believed Alec going to destroy the Institute and he couldn't just sit back and do nothing. The Ley Lines were causing some disruptions and had caused one death during the hospital power surge, but it seemed extreme that Alec had reasoned that the only option they had left was to risk blowing up the entirety of New York to fix the Ley Line issue.

Raj closed his eyes tightly and clenched his fists. He had _always_ followed the rules, every time. He'd done so under Robert Lightwood, Victor Aldertree and then Alec, but the one time he deemed the risk simply too great to sit back and follow protocol, he was punished for it.

Raj cursed at the unfairness of the situation. Alec and his friends had broken countless rules and been more insubordinate than any other Shadowhunters at the Institute and yet they weren't here. Must be one of the perks of running an Institute, Raj thought bitterly.

Alec had made a comment that it was his duty to serve the people of New York. He knew that and that was why he did what he did. Blowing up the Institute alone would've been bad enough and would have left New York defenseless from demon attacks, but Alec's plan could have destroyed the city. If even the smallest thing had gone wrong in Alec's plan, the eight and a half million people who called New York City home would have been dead. It was clear to him that the loss far outweighed the benefit of success, so instead of letting the people he'd sworn to protect perish in a senseless death, he decided to do something about it.

It really was a miracle Alec's plan had actually worked at all and that was truly the only reason he was here. Like he'd told Alec, there was reason Institutes weren't built on Ley Lines and Alec threw all that out the window the first chance he got.

That being said, he wouldn't call Alec a rash man by any means, in fact, he was a fairly good leader. Since he'd taken over as Head of the Institute, things had been running smooth. Downworld relations were at an all time high and they had defeated Valentine and the Circle under his command, which was no small feat.

Raj knew he probably hadn't won any brownie points when he had suggested quarantining the warlocks outside of New York. Even if Alec hadn't been dating one, that probably wasn't something he would even consider doing knowing his position on the Downworld Cabinet. But the only time the Ley Lines became unstable was when magic was done around them. A warlock or someone who could perform magic was behind these quakes. Alec and his team had fixed the symptom, but whoever was doing it was still out there. Raj wondered why it hadn't been a priority to find and locate that person rather than implement a half-baked plan that could result in all their deaths.

That wasn't his problem anymore though, seeing as he was officially banished.

Raj let out a sigh as he remembered Alec calling him, Silas and Marjorie into his office to tell them that they were going to Idris to face trial in front of the Clave. Raj wasn't even given anytime to explain himself before he was being whisked through the halls to his room, given ten minutes to pack. He had just enough time to send off a fire message to his parents at the Mumbai Institute and pack a few things before he was being portaled off to Idris.

The trial had been quick and swift. The Clave had ruled against them with only two nay votes, sentencing them to six months on this barren, snowy wasteland for insubordination.

He still couldn't believe that one decision had jeopardized his entire future. That one decision he'd made to try and prevent more causalities had cost him dearly.

Raj had reached the door to compound, opening the door with a gloved hand as he made his way inside. He was thankful there was a fireplace in the main living space. He sat down, taking off his gloves and coat as he desperately tried to warm up.

It was going to take him a long time to get acclimated to the icy winds of Wrangel island as compared to the milder temperatures of New York.

“You okay?” A voice said to his left.

Raj looked up to see a man curled in a blue armchair, book in his lap.

Raj nodded. “Yeah.”

The man regarded him for a moment. “You're new here, aren't you? I don't remember seeing you around.”

Raj settled back into his own chair. “Yeah, I got here two days ago.”

The man nodded. “What are you here for?”

“I undermined the Head of the Institute where I worked at.”

The man smiled sympathetically. “That'll do it.” The man closed his book and placed it on the end table. “My name's Gabriel.”

“Raj.” Raj replied.

Gabriel offered him another smile. “Don't worry, this place isn't so bad.” Raj gave him an incredulous look and Gabriel rolled his eyes. “Okay, fine, there's a lack of good food and the general absence of civilization and what not, but everyone here is pretty chill.”

Raj raised an eyebrow. “So, we may be banished, but at least the company is good? Is that what you're saying?”

Gabriel gave him a shrug. “It's true. I'll have to introduce you to Hazel and Colby, they're a hoot and a half. You'll love them.”

Raj couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him at Gabriel's description of his friends. “So, Gabriel, what are you here for?”

“Me? Well, that, my friend, is a long story, but in short, I went against the Clave and prevented the arrest of a werewolf.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Because she was innocent, but the Clave didn't see it that way and charged me with obstruction of justice and so here I am for the next eight months.”

Raj shifted and angled himself so he was facing Gabriel in his chair. “Eight months? How how long have you been here?”

“About four... The Clave gave me a year of banishment. How long you here for?”

“Six months.” Raj replied.

Gabriel hummed. “All for going against the Head of your Institute? What'd you do?”

“I locked him out of the system. He was moving forward with a plan that just as easily could've blown up New York City than having any chance at success.”

Gabriel's eyes widened. “Wait, you're from the New York Institute? Isn't Alec Lightwood the Head there?”

Raj looked surprised. “You've heard of him?”

Gabriel nodded. “Yeah, the first openly gay man in that sort of position, I'm pretty sure every Institute in the world knows who he is. I always figured him for more a level-headed guy though.”

“Normally he is, but his plan to fix unstable Ley Lines was to have them all converge under the Institute. It was too big of a risk for me not to do anything. It was only by the grace of the Angel it actually worked.”

Gabriel let out a low breath. “I'll say.” Gabriel tapped his fingers against the arm rest a few times before standing up. “I'm gonna go grab a bite to eat, wanna join me?”

Raj blinked, momentarily speechless. “Uh, yeah, sure.”

Things weren't great. They were actually pretty far from great. He had been sentenced by the Clave and banished to this forsaken island. That mark on his record would always haunt him no matter how far from New York he traveled, but Gabriel was here and looking at him with a mixture of amusement and honesty and despite all the crap that had been thrown at him in the past few days, Raj somehow felt that everything would turn out okay.

**Author's Note:**

> Things turn out more than okay because Raj and Gabriel end up falling in love and moving to India together after their banishment to work at the Mumbai Institute. (This is my official canon since I'm pretty sure banishing Raj was the writers shitty way off writing him off the show, so we're probably never gonna see him again... God, he deserved so much better).


End file.
